When Viktor Hovland teed up at the Valspar Championship, he had much to lose. The Norwegian was coming after missing the last three cuts. One of them was THE PLAYERS’ Championship, just a week before. Easily, this could have been one of his most challenging periods. Thanks to his undeniable talent, he survived the four days. That Sunday, the 28-year-old defeated Justin Thomas by one stroke and captured his 7th PGA Tour victory. Now, months later, the seeds of his win are being reaped.

As part of the “Be Bright by Valspar” initiative, his win at the Copperhead Course earned him the honor of a mural. Last Friday, the mural was finally revealed. On a bright orange wall, a smiling Hovland was painted holding his Valspar trophy from the $8.7 M event. Designed by Kellen Carter, the mural looked beautiful.

This tradition has been going on since 2021. Each year, Valspar paints two murals tied to its event. One of them remains in Tampa Bay, and the other goes to a place per the wish of the winner. Hovland could have chosen his native country, Norway. But instead, he chose the south wall of Chris’ University Spirit, near the Oklahoma State University (OSU), because it is his alma mater. And it is a special place for him, rightufully so.

It was 2013 when Hovland was first recruited from Europe by then-coach Alan Bratton. His exceptional talent landed him in the US after three years. OSU seemed like a fitting choice. Soon enough, he started playing for the Cowboys. Inevitably, his talent saw the light, and he led the Cowboys to their 11th win at the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf National Championship. This was their first title since 2006. With a perfect score of 5-0, Hovland etched his name in OSU’s history books.

After that, the young Norwegian accumulated various awards during his time there. He won the 2018 US-AM Championship, playing the fewest holes since 1979. As a junior, he won the Ben Hogan Award in 2019, an honor previously awarded to players like Hunter Mahan and Rickie Fowler. Hovland became the fourth OSU player to earn this award.

So if the place as given him so much, how could he shake off his love for it? When Viktor Hovland turned professional in 2019, he did not go back to Europe. Instead, he stayed in Stillwater, Oklahoma. “When you turn pro and start traveling, you don’t see a lot of the same people you used to,” he told Golf.com once. Chasing that stability and connection, the Norwegian built his home there.

And it’s not like Stillwater has not recognized him back. Just this September, Viktor Hovland was inducted into the Oklahoma State Athletics Hall of Honor. He became the youngest inductee ever. And the day of the feat was surreal too, because it was the first day of the Ryder Cup. Unfortunately, he could not play the event completely due to a neck injury. But he had a lifetime’s worth of memories to take back home: Europe won (15-13) decisively on an away course.

Now, with this installation, Stillwater has not just gained a piece of art, but a reminder of a golfer whose loyalty to the town runs deep. A great initiative by Valspar, these are ways the golfers can validate their connections to special places, just like Hovland. And indeed, many of them have chosen to do so.

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A look back at Valspar Champion’s murals

The “Be Bright Initiative” by Valspar was started as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It aimed to uplift optimism at a time when the world was at a standstill. Since then, several players have been honored with the Valspar Championship’s mural.

In 2021, it was Brandt Snedeker who earned this privilege. As an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, he chose Preston Taylor Ministries in Nashville, Tennessee, as his place of choice. It is a school center that he and his wife, Mandy, support for its service to the children in the area. The mural was built by local artist Alexandria Hall and was unveiled in December 2021.

The year next to that, Sam Burns won the honor when he defeated David Riley in a tense playoff. After his victory, Burns and his wife, Caroline, chose The Dixie Center for the Arts in Ruston, Louisiana, for the mural. It is their adopted hometown, and Burns, who is an LSU product, has lived nearby for six years.

The mural was unveiled in October and was designed by KaDavien Baylor, a Tech graduate. The turnout for this ceremony was so large that NFL Hall of Famer Rondé Barber described it as “by far the biggest” unveiling he had ever attended.